Netflix movies don’t deserve Oscars, says Steven Spielberg

27 . Mar . 2018

Reading Time: 1 minute

Legendary director Steven Spielberg is not happy that a Netflix title went on to win an Oscar. The famed director opined that instead of being eligible for Academy Awards, the Netflix titles made themselves more apt to win an Emmy.

His argument – that since Netflix is essentially a television network, it should not aim to win an Oscar. The Academy Awards, as per him, should be given only to films that are released in brick-and mortar cinemas.

Prior to this, Amazon Prime Studios had bought the rights for Manchester by the Sea, but the film had a wide cinematic release, before streaming on the platform. Netflix, however, hasn’t followed this move yet.

Notwithstanding the increasing popularity of streaming service in general, the director said that he will continue making film for a theatrical release, instead of making one for the streaming service. It is not just Steven Speilberg who has criticized Netflix. Earlier, Christopher Nolan called Netflix a filmmaker’s nightmare.

In the past, two of Netflix films made it to the coveted Cannes Film Festival competition. But Cannes had announced that starting from 20118, the streaming service was barred from competition.

Netflix seems to be facing a backlash from film industry gatekeepers. A year after two Netflix films competed at Cannes, the renowned film festival also announced last week that the streaming service was barred from competition. Cannes previously said that starting in 2018, all competition films would need to receive theatrical runs in France, following an outcry from film purists over Netflix’s participation.